Necole Sims: Hey society, character counts in plus-size women, too

Thursday

Apr 29, 2010 at 12:01 AMApr 29, 2010 at 6:15 PM

For the plus-size women reading this who have yet to learn they are unique and special in their own way, quit listening to society and start listening to your heart. Be happy for who you are. Stop living someone else’s life. There is room in the world for sizes 0 through 30.

Necole Sims

I am a full figured woman and a frequent Lane Bryant customer. As a matter of fact, 95 percent of my wardrobe comes from Lane Bryant. That’s my disclaimer before I continue this column.

Some of you are thinking “yeah, big deal.” Bravo for you if you did. A lot of you however just gasped and can’t believe that I admitted to being a big woman. Truth is, five years ago I would have pretended that it was not true. I have learned to embrace and love me, size 22/24 and all. I have begun an exercise regimen, but it’s not specifically for weight loss. I need to be healthier. This isn’t a confessional column and no, I haven’t lost my mind. There was a reason for my announcement.

I was reading a story about Fox and ABC refusing to show an ad for Lane Bryant’s Cacique lingerie. The ad featured a plus-size lady in her bra and panties in various sexy poses. Not groundbreaking stuff, is it? The ad was denied airtime. Fox stated that the ad was too risqué. Both stations have, however, shown Victoria’s Secret models in their bras and panties.

What a joke

Lane Bryant claims it was being discriminated against. The ad originally was scheduled to run during ABC’s “Dancing with the Stars”. If anyone has seen that show (and according to the ratings, many watch) the females on that show are scantily clad.

Fox’s denial is laughable. They aired a show called “More to Love,” a “Bachelor”-type program that featured plus-size contestants. I initially was happy for the show, but after a couple of weeks, it was evident that Fox looked for the most damaged, insecure and fragile women to put on this show. I quickly became disgusted with the weekly crying and found myself yelling at the TV, telling the women to go home and stop making fools of themselves on national TV.

Does Lane Bryant have a point? Are plus size women demonized for the sin of, gulp, having curves and being proud of it? It seems that way but thankfully, the tide may be turning.

Christina Hendricks of “Mad Men" fame, was recently named Esquire magazine’s sexiest woman. What a coup! By the time you all read this article, “Precious” star Gabourey Sidibe will have hosted “Saturday Night Live” and, if the clips I saw are any indication, she will do a bang-up job. Hendricks is a plus-size bombshell on a hit show. Imagine that. Did you catch Sidibe’s interaction with Gerard Butler and Billy Bush on the Oscar red carpet? She is definitely comfortable in her own plus-size skin. Many skinny women wouldn’t have had the nerve.

The other half

I have said all this to make a simple point. When you judge a woman on her size, you only get half the story. In a world where the average dress size is 14, more women look like Mia Tyler (plus-size model and daughter of Steven Tyler) than Sarah Jessica Parker. Stop judging women on their weight and try focusing on the character.

For the plus-size women reading this who have yet to learn they are unique and special in their own way, quit listening to society and start listening to your heart. Be happy for who you are. Stop living someone else’s life. There is room in the world for sizes 0 through 30.